Our Digest this week covers the slump in the PM’s net favourability rating after that net-zero announcement last week, and how the morning brew and evening beer is under threat from climate change.
But we start with the single-use plastic (SUP) bans that come into force on Sunday (October 1st). Polystyrene food and drink containers, plastic cutlery, plates bowls and trays are all banned in England. There is still a little confusion around the polystyrene, according to the Foodservice Packaging Association (FPA), so do check the guidance. Or you can write to: Plastics.Consultation@defra.gov.uk.
Plastic includes biodegradable, compostable and recycled plastics too. Existing stock has to be used up and, according to the government’s website, local authorities will be carrying out inspections to make sure foodservice companies are following the rules. Indeed.
Looking at some of the advice posted on council websites it’s good to see that paper or wood is not simply the default (perhaps this is based on central government advisory notes?). Some local authorities talk of offering reusables, in particular for customers that are sitting in to eat or drink. The words ‘biodegradable’ and ‘eco-friendly’ do still crop up here, there and everywhere.
Talking of eco friends brings us to UK prime minister Rishi Sunak, and a quite brilliant tweet – spotted by the FPA – from Zero Waste Scotland’s Ray Georgeson: “Leaked talk of ‘burdensome #recycling schemes’ makes me spit. He [Sunak] might find that the #climatecrisis is a bit more “burdensome” than asking folk to sort a few recyclables out & put out their food waste for processing for biogas! #NetZero.”
The fallout from the PM’s decision to get to net-zero with next-to-zero policies continues. His popularity has plunged to its lowest point since entering Number 10, according to a YouGov poll reported by Sky News. Footprint this week urged businesses not to give up or slow down their environmental initiatives. In fact, they must pick up the pace.
The New York Times has reported that many big food companies are heading in the wrong direction with emissions rising rather than falling. McDonald’s is front and centre of the investigation which assesses the climate disclosures of 20 of the world’s largest food and restaurant companies. Half have not made any progress on their emissions reduction goals or have reported rising emissions.
At McDonald’s greenhouse gas emissions were 12% higher in 2021 than the 2015 baseline. Chipotle, which is aiming to halve emissions by 2030, reported a 26% increase in emissions in its 2022 report. Starbucks’ carbon footprint grew 12% compared to 2019 levels. Mars, meanwhile, has managed to reduce emissions while growing its business.
Food companies, it seems, are failing to tackle scope 3 emissions, which can account for around 90% of their total footprint. This will take time as they transition to, for example, regenerative approaches to farming, test changes to livestock feed that will reduce methane, and try to replace high impact commodities like soya. Whether there is widespread acceptance of the need to also shift their portfolios towards more plant-based, and healthier, options is not clear.
Edie reports that 45% of the businesses surveyed by Siemens are expecting to miss their 2030 emission reduction targets. The risk of recession, and a lack of public and private investment were among the cited reasons, so too was access to the right skills.
Starbucks has just created two new roles across EMEA: senior manager – ESG supply chain operations programmes, and senior manager – ESG programmes. The listing for the former on the Acre recruitment website says the candidate must be “an internal subject matter expert on topics including product compliance, ethical standards, human rights, and supply chain analysis, taking the organisation above and beyond full supply chain compliance status”. The latter will lead on the chain’s response to emerging regulations, including forest-risk commodities, auditing of green claims, human/ethical rights and waste and plastic legislation. The successful candidates will be busy.
Starbucks has just come second in the coffee brew index – an analysis of the sustainability and social commitments of the world’s 11 major coffee roasting companies. Nestlé came top, with Kraft Heinz propping things up at the bottom.
The index does not assess tangible impact on the ground, focusing on commitments and the strategies in place to meet them. “[…] very few companies share up-to-date public information about their certification and verification processes, sustainability premiums and long-term contracts, let alone their supplier base”, the researchers from Ethos Agriculture, Conservation International and Solidaridad noted. Information relating to managing climate risks in coffee production at the field level often remains “vague”.
Companies generally scored higher on their environmental strategies with Nestlé, JDE Peet’s and Starbucks the most advanced in their inclusion of deforestation as a material risk within their sustainability strategies. Sustainable purchasing practices across all companies are a huge concern, mind. The 2023 coffee barometer, published by along with the index, warned that the “era of cheap high-quality coffee is over”.
Which brings us back to cost-cutting Sunak and how pitching his net-zero rollback as a “realistic” vision for the future is actually short-sighted. There is a need to build resilience. The coffee barometer highlighted the shortfalls in coffee supplies as climate change really kicks in. Beer companies are also facing the irony that hotter weather will create more demand for a cool drink but there might not be enough to go around.
Asahi CEO Atsushi Katsuki has warned that beer could be facing an existential crisis: the French harvest is forecast to decline 10%, that in Poland by 9% and the quality of hops in the Czech Republic by 13%, Katsuki told the FT. And that is under the global heating scenario of below 2°C (which is looking ambitious). “There is a risk that we may not be able to produce enough beer.” Image how that will go down with voters?
